Play is defined as an activity undertaken by an individual driven by intrinsic motivation, or an interest or enjoyment in the activity, associated with recreational pleasure. According to Johan Huizinga, one of the founders of modern cultural history, play is “a free activity standing outside ‘ordinary life’ as being ‘not serious’ but at the same time absorbing the player intensely and utterly. It is an activity connected with no material interest, and no profit can be gained by it. It proceeds within its own proper boundaries of time and space according to fixed rules and in an orderly manner.” Of course, that is not a hard and fast definition; play can take many different forms and incorporate a wide variety of rules, including none at all. It can also be an indirectly profitable activity, in the case of some organized sports games. Some psychologists argue that play is not a means to an end, but an end itself. Play is an integral part of human and animal life, and psychologists believe it serves important functions such as socialization, learning about physical environments and testing limits for future survival, and in general, exercise for the mind and body.
A game is generally defined as structured playing, usually designed for the enjoyment of the player and generally incorporating goals, rules, challenge, interaction, and stimulation of the mind, body, or both. Games in one form or another have existed for essentially the entirety of human history, and even animals have been observed playing crude games. An enormous variety of games exist today, from card games to board games to computer games to mind games to ball games.
Sports, which often take the form of a game of some sort, are forms of competitive physical activity, typically involving opposing or otherwise competing teams which aim to win a game or otherwise accomplish a certain goal before the other team or teams. Sports aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants and may be participated in casually or officially with a league or other organization. Sports have been around for many centuries, with archeological evidence to suggest that the Chinese engaged in sporting activities as early as 2000 BC. Evidence of early Egyptian regulated sports exists, including swimming, fishing, javelin throwing, high jumping and wrestling. Many hundreds of different sports exist today, from those requiring only two participants, to those with hundreds of simultaneous participants.
Sports are generally recognized as activities which are based in physical athleticism or dexterity, although some sports associations recognize a few non-physical sports. The definition of a sport that is closest to an international agreement of a definition has been put forth by SportAccord, the association for the largest international sports organizations, saying that a sport should have an element of competition, be in no way harmful to any living creature, not rely on equipment provided by a single supplier, and not rely on any “luck” element specifically designed into the sport. They also say that a sport may involve primarily physical, mental, motorized, co-ordination, or animal supported elements. In the United States and in many other places, the most popular sports in general are American football, baseball, basketball, and ice hockey, in addition to other popular sports such as soccer, lacrosse, and rugby. Football has the highest participation of any sport at the high school and college levels in the United States.
Training is the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. In other words, training is the process of intentionally improving one's capability, capacity and performance. Training is required for many roles in life, especially in the labor market, where many jobs require specific skills which are important for the employee to properly perform their duties. Training is often required to promote safety in hazardous environments. Physical training concentrates on mechanistic goals, such as developing physical skills or muscles, and is a large part of serious or professional sports participation. Since sports are essentially a measure of which team is better or more proficient at certain tasks or skills such as teamwork, traversing distance, accuracy with a projectile or other similar skills, it is necessary for a team which desires to achieve victory to train their team members diligently in the necessary skills. This is generally accomplished by scheduled practice sessions usually involving the entire team or a large portion of it.
The quarterback position is particularly important in the game of football. The quarterback is the leader of the team on the field as he is the one who starts each play with the ball and makes the decision of how to advance the ball down the field. The quarterback position requires a number of skills that are difficult to develop. The quarterback must learn to quickly find an open receiver and get the ball to the receiver before a blitz or pass rush reaches the quarterback. When a receiver is not open, the quarterback must learn to quickly locate another receiver and quickly get rid of the football. An important aspect of football practice is to develop ball handling proficiency on the part of the quarterback in acquiring skill in passing. Important parts of both ball handling and passing on the part of the quarterback are accuracy, as well as the speed with which the quarterback releases the ball. In addition, a quarterback must be skilled in recognizing a blitz or pass rush and be able to mitigate the risk those situations present. Unfortunately, it is difficult for quarterbacks to hone timing and decision making skills without working with the entire football team. It is therefore difficult for the quarterback to practice and improve his skills on his own.
Various devices have been developed previously for the purpose of enhancing football training or enabling a player to practice his skills on his own. For example, one prior art discloses a mechanical training device to be used by quarterbacks in practicing reception of the ball at the start of play and passing of the ball to a receiver. This device simulates the delivery of the ball from the center to the quarterback of a football team, in addition to simulating the delivery of the ball from the quarterback to a receiver of a football team. In another prior art, a machine is disclosed for simulating the snap of the ball from the center to the quarterback. In addition, one or more timers and alarms are provided which time and signal the lapse of time allotted in which the quarterback must execute a play. Another prior art discloses apparatus for practicing punting, passing, or kicking of the football. This device is primarily for use in measuring azimuth angle, equivalent distance and angle of elevation of a ball that is punted, passed or kicked. While these devices aid in the practice of certain aspects of a football game, they are limited in function. There appears to be few, if any, apparatus suitable for timing and scoring in addition to aiding with training for passing and blitz or pass rush mitigation.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus to improve a quarterback's skills. In particular, the present invention improves the quarterback's peripheral vision, target recognition, release time, reaction time, accuracy, footwork, and muscle memory. It is a further object of the present invention to create a realistic game situation without needing an entire team of football players.